Abbreviations, abbreviations and illegible handwriting of the doctor in the records can have very serious consequences. Negligent records on hospital cards with prescriptions for nursing staff may be misread or interpreted by nurses, which can lead to a serious error, say British researchers.

Scientists have checked only one hospital, where there were patients with diabetes, and were horrified. Having studied only 75 hospital cards with appointments, they found that at least 5% of cases the junior medical staff could interpret the written absolutely wrong and make serious mistakes.

Moreover, in every sixth card there were errors in registration: in many cases there was no appointment date, and there was no personal signature of the attending physician. And in every third card, the exact time of injections of the drug (in this case insulin, since it is a specialized hospital for diabetics) was not indicated,.

The British diabetes organization Diabetes UK issued a special statement after the publication of these glaring facts that they are very concerned about the identified shortcomings. The exact doses of insulin and the correct timing of taking medication and food intake are elementary, but at the same time extremely important factors in the treatment of diabetes and improving the condition of patients. Improperly interpreted prescriptions can lead to tragic consequences, experts stressed..

Medicinform. Net.